FOS sees sharp drop in cases

The latest quarterly data on complaints from the FOS show new cases dropping by more than a third, largely because professional representatives are bringing fewer cases since the FOS changed its charging model. The FOS notes that a higher proportion of cases the representatives do bring are being upheld, which suggests the representatives are doing better due diligence in their preparatory work.

During the quarter to September 2025 the FOS received only 46,300 complaints. Professional representatives made only 4,300 of them, as opposed to over 37,000 of the 73,000 cases the FOS saw in the same quarter last year. So the number of cases brought directly by consumers has stayed relatively steady.

In terms of what is complained about, there have been large drops in complaints about motor finance commission and unaffordable lending – which were the matters professional representatives raised the most. Current accounts are now the most complained-about product.

The overall uphold rate is still around one third.